Uzebox GameCard Baseboard

Description:Replacement: None. We are no longer carrying the Uzebox in our catalog. This page is for reference only.

The Uzebox GameCard baseboard is a carrier board for the AVCore module. The GameCard is designed for creating and playing video games as well as graphic and audio applications based on the Uzebox project.

Simply plug the AVCore module into the Uzebox GameCard baseboard and you have the official Uzebox development platform; 100% compatible with the Uzebox specification.

The Uzebox GameCard connections include two SNES compatible joypad/controller ports, an S-video jack, RCA jacks with composite video and audio output, an Atmel ISP (2x3 pin) connector, and a 5VDC power input. An LED and pushbutton are available for user programs and a hardwired ‘Reset’ switch is present for quick restarts on games or debugging.

The Uzebox is a retro-minimalist homebrew game console. It is based on an AVR 8-bit general purpose microcontroller made by Atmel. The particularity of the system is that it’s based on an interrupt driven kernel and has no frame buffer. Functions such as video sync generation, tile rendering and music mixing is done realtime by a background task so games can easily be developed in C.

Note that you MUST have a 5V REGULATED power supply for the Uzebox. The board does NOT have a 5V regulator on-board, and will be flaky and unreliable without a regulated supply.
I learned this the hard way… :(

@braddock– correct, regulated power input is a good idea.
The earlier “gamer” baseboards (sold for a limited time through the Uzebox forums) shipped with 5.5V power adapters to allow for some extra drop from onboard regulation.
SparkFun wanted this version to use their ‘standard’ 5.0V power supply (model #TOL-08269). Having an additional onboard LDO would have dropped the power to the AVCore module under 5.0VDC as a result, so there is no regulation present on the board.

Customer Reviews

SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to
make your electronics projects possible. Whether it's a robot that can
cook your breakfast or a GPS cat tracking device, our products and
resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible.

In addition to products, SparkFun also offers
classes and online tutorials to help educate
individuals in the wonderful world of embedded electronics.